The present invention relates to tracking agent call processing locations, in connection with an automatic call distribution system, particularly in a wireless agent environment.
Automatic call distribution systems are typically used to distribute telephone calls and other communications among a group of agents of an organization. Automatic call distributor (ACD) systems may be used to distribute calls under any of a number of different formats. In a first instance, the term xe2x80x9ccallxe2x80x9d may be used to refer to a request for communication received from (or placed through) a public switched telephone network (PSTN). A call may also be a voice path based upon packet data transferred through the Internet using web telephony. Alternatively, a call may be any communication such as an e-mail, a facsimile, video, web-site inquiry received through the Internet, etc. Thus, xe2x80x9cACD systemsxe2x80x9d are transaction processing systems which typically handle one or more of a wide variety of these xe2x80x9ccallxe2x80x9d types.
Often the organization disseminates a single telephone number, URL or e-mail address to its customers and to the public in general as a means of contacting the organization. As calls are directed to the organization from the PSTN or Internet, the automatic call distribution system directs the calls to its agents using some assignment algorithm, typically based upon availability. For example, where all agents are considered equal, the ACD may distribute the calls based upon which agent position has been idle the longest.
In order to distribute calls, the ACD system is typically provided with at least two routing mechanisms for establishing call paths between callers and agents. A first path may be established from the PSTN to a telephone of the agent using a matrix switch of the ACD.
Alternatives to calls received through the PSTN includes a call received through a computer network such as the Internet, e.g. as a request for Internet telephony, as e-mail or as an inquiry from a visitor to a website maintained by the organization owning the ACD system.
Typically, a controlling computer interacts with a switching fabric to distribute incoming calls from an external communications network including, for example, public telephone networks, internet networks and other communications networks. For traditional telephone calls, a connection to the external network may be in the form of a number of trunk connections. Each of the trunk connections is monitored by the controller for incoming calls. When a call is detected, the controller searches for and selects an idle agent, and commands the switch to form a connection between the incoming trunk and the selected agent.
In other systems, the organization may use a number of telephone numbers to identify different individuals or functions within the organization. Each telephone number may be assigned to a particular incoming trunk or group of incoming trunk lines. The controller may be required to recognize a call target based on the identity of an incoming trunk line, and to route the call accordingly. In other systems, a call target may be identified to the ACD by a signal transferred from the external network. This may be an automatic signal or one based on input from the caller in response to a recorded choice of options.
It may be important for an agent to have ready access to customer files in systems associated with service organizations, where many calls are received and handled by many agents. A database may be maintained of existing customer files, which may be displayed on agent terminals as the agents converse with specific customers. In some cases, the agent may enter a customer identifier into a keyboard associated with the terminal, to identify a customer to the database for display of records on the terminal.
Alternatively, the ACD controller may transfer a customer identifier to the database based on a signal transferred from the external network. When the ACD controller transfers a call to a selected agent, the controller may send a customer identifier and a unit identifier of the selected agent to a database. The customer file can be displayed on a computer monitor of the selected agent when the call is delivered.
As a further feature, calls may be transferred among agents. If a first agent cannot help a particular customer, the agent may activate a key on a keyboard of the agent and enter the identity of another agent or agent group better able to help the customer. The ACD controller may connect the call to the newly identified agent, or place the call in a queue until the identified agent becomes available. A message can be sent to the database identifying the previous and newly identified agents, and the customer file can be displayed at the terminal of the newly identified agent.
Increasingly, agents will be utilizing wireless technology which allows them to process calls without being tied to a hard-wired location. An external caller can be connected to an agent operating a wireless unit, which may provide for voice communication, data communications, or both.
In this new wireless agent environment, there is a need to be able to identify the location of an agent processing a call. Agents may be processing calls at different locations within a physical facility of an organization and may be changing location during a single call, possibly depending on the nature of the call. Agents may be processing calls at different physical facilities of an organization, or possibly away from any physical facility of the organization.
Supervisors and call center administrators need to be able to monitor agent location, and the information needs to be stored in a database for preparation of reports and later analysis. Such agent location information may be useful simply to locate an agent quickly. It may be useful to ensure quality call processing, in the event that an agent is processing calls in an undesirable environmentxe2x80x94such as one with high noise, frequent background noise, or other distractions. It may be useful to identify the best places for agents to be located based on where they tend to move to respond to particular types of calls.
Navigation technology and technology concerning the selection of the best wireless signal can be applied to automatically determining the locations of agents using wireless units to process calls. That location information can be stored as part of a transaction management database system. That information can be monitored real time, and reports can be generated to track where calls were handled as well as the movement of agents during calls.
The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth below with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with further advantages thereof, may be understood by reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which illustrate some embodiments of the invention.